The loss of richness and multiplicity of word meaning can result in a decline in the metaphoric activity of the mind. A technologically-oriented civilization pressures students to devalue word connotation in favor of denotative exactitude. To counteract this tendency, teachers should adopt for themselves and instill in their students a regard for…

Noting that knowledge of grammar rules does not ensure correct usage in one's own writing, describes an approach used in a summer workshop to promote awareness of appropriate idiom where 35 highly motivated black students produced 'Snow White' using their own script, half in standard dialect and half in black dialect. (JG)

Includes the full text of Toni Morrison's acceptance speech for the 1996 Nobel Prize, awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. In the context of a modern day fable, Morrison investigates interwoven themes of language, creativity, and responsibility. Includes several photographs of the ceremony. (MJP)

As most deaf individuals experience two languages (American Sign Language, English) and three modalities (sign, speech, print), this article describes code variations and adaptations in particular situations at a school for the deaf. Most language was mixed in both code and mode; such mixing was seen to be a strategy which uniquely adapts…

The entire process of legal writing would be shorter and more effective if writers would give as much attention to the politics of the rhetorical situation as they do to legal research. To do that requires the following considerations: (1) understanding the three dramatic elements in the rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, tone); (2)…

Thirty informants were presented with sets of clauses punctuated as in the pattern "S1. If S2. S3" and asked which clause, S1 or S3, the "if" clause modified. Independently, several linguists judged the sentences "S1, if S2" and "S2, if S3" acceptable. Missing intonational clues or improper punctuation,…

As the title suggests, this book specifically attempts to illuminate the communicative habits and expressive life-style of urban black Americans within the community setting. The volume consists of four sections: "Nonverbal Communication,""Vocabulary and Culture,""Expressive Uses of Language," and "Expressive Role B Behavior." Articles in the…

This study examines growth rates in vocabulary over an academic year for 150 Latino English language learners. In October, February, and June of kindergarten, participants completed standardized measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary. Before the second and third assessments, a third of the children watched Arthur three times a week during…

This pamphlet is the first in a series of ten stemming from the view that language is central to learning, that teachers can gain insights into their work and into learning by examining the language of the classroom, and that current language theory can be the means to such insights. The pamphlet contains a description of an informal study…

In this seventh-grade language unit, the study of semantics is introduced by an examination of the relationships between words and their referents, particularly in terms of changes of meaning and degrees of abstraction. Classroom activities are suggested to help students become aware of "language liveliness" and the processes of…

An analysis of the use of attenuation (structural or semantic softening of the speech act) and sentence structure in elicited speech acts by normally developing, learning disabled, and developmentally delayed populations is presented. In the normally developing population (1) the development of attenuation strategies is different from structural…

A discussion of the types and uses of stories in second language instruction argues that the inclination to narrate is an omnipresent human phenomenon, whether attributed to nature or to culture. The story is a means of self-expression and communication that describes different forms of narrative, both literary and nonliterary. The uses and…

A study relating mothers' language styles and techniques of family control to children's cognitive development was conducted with 163 urban Negro mothers from the lower and middle classes and their 4-year-old children. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) There was a significant negative correlation between responses of status-oriented…

Designed to promote an awareness of the everyday French language, this supplementary textbook was developed to enable students of French to use idiomatic expressions from the early learning stages to the more advanced levels. The units are arranged as follows according to the verb component of the expression: "avoir,""etre,""faire," the three…

WHAT NEGRO STUDENTS BRING, AS WELL AS WHAT THEY DO NOT BRING, TO THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE SHOULD BE OF CONCERN TO TEACHERS. INTONATION AND A NONSTANDARD VOCABULARY ARE TWO DEVICES WHICH ENABLE NEGROES TO MAKE SUBTLE LANGUAGE DISTINCTIONS WHICH TESTS DO NOT MEASURE OR SAMPLE. FURTHER LANGUAGE SUBTLETIES EXIST IN THE CONNOTATIONS OF MANY COMMON…